Saidman DesignLaw Group

News Archive

Back to Latest News | Browse Archive by Year

  •  

    DesignLaw Perspectives

    Vol. 3 No. 7 November 2009

    $774,000 Jury Verdict for Willful Copyright Infringement

    On November 6, 2009, Ltd., SAIDMAN DesignLaw Group principal Garfield Goodrum secured a jury verdict of $774,000 for willful copyright infringement in a visual design case on behalf of client Design Ideas, Ltd. against national retailer Things Remembered, Inc. Design Ideas, Ltd., v. Things Remembered, Inc., Case No. 3:07-cv-03077 (C.D. Ill. Filed March 16, 2007.) The case demonstrates copyright's power and efficiency in protecting every-day, useful objects.

    View PDF of full newsletter

    Posted: 11-20-2009

     

  • DesignLaw Perspectives

    Vol. 3 No. 6 September 2009

    Copyright Corner - RFMAS v. Mimi So

    Does your company publish a hard copy or online catalog that shows your designs? If so, U.S. copyright law presents a unique and valuable tool for protecting the designs illustrated in the catalog.

    Garfield Goodrum writes about a recent opinion from the Southern District of New York contains valuable and serious implications for design-oriented companies, including the practice of protecting multiple designs with a single registration. This highly economical copyright registration practice is known only in U.S. copyright law, having no counterpart in foreign countries. It follows a solid line of federal cases, including a seminal decision from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The court’s opinion also expounded on the effect of a Supplementary Registration on the important evidentiary benefits of registration, providing a painful example of the perils of sloppy registration practice and late correction of errors.

    View PDF of full newsletter

     

  • DesignLaw Perspectives

    Vol. 3 No. 5 July 2009

    Copyright Corner - Crown Awards v. Discount Trophy 

    Garfiled Goodrum wrote about Crown Awards, Inc., v. Discount Trophy & Co., Inc., 2009 WL 1054109 (2d Cir. 2009), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a copyright infringement award of over $188,000 for copying a trophy that plaintiff had registered with the U.S. Copyright Office for a mere $45. The Court of Appeals confirmed yet again that copyright protects designs of everyday, personal and household objects and not just pieces of fine art, music and literature.

    View PDF of full newsletter

     

  • DesignLaw Perspectives

    Vol. 3 No. 4 June 2009

    Egyptian Goddess - Chef'n Corp. v. Trudeau Corp.

    Perry Saidman writes about the latest significant post-Egyptian case, the U.S. district court in Seattle granted an accused infringer's motion for summary judgment of non-infringement in a case involving a vegetable steamer.

    In Chef'n Corp. v. Trudeau Corp., 2009 WL 1564229 (W.D. Wash. 2009), Chef'n asserted its design patent D556,503 against a vegetable steamer made and sold by Trudeau.

    View PDF of full newsletter

     

  • DesignLaw Perspectives

    Vol. 3 No. 3 May 2009

    Egyptian Goddess - Richardson v. Stanley Works

    The first post-Egyptian case to struggle with the functional/ornamental dichotomy left intact by EG is Richardson v. Stanley Works, 2009 WL 943529 (D.Ariz.).   

    Perry Saidman writes about how the individual plaintiff, David Richardson, designed, made and sold a crow-bar he called the "Stepclaw" that is covered by his U.S. Pat. No. D507,167. He sued The Stanley Works for infringement by Stanley's sale of its crow-bar called the "Fubar" as shown in Stanley's U.S. Pat. No. D562,101.  

    View PDF of full newsletter

     

  • DesignLaw Perspectives

    Vol. 3 No. 2 April 2009

    Egyptian Goddess - International Seaway v. Walgreens

    Perry Saidman wrote about the second major post-Egyptian Goddess design patent case that was handed down in January 2009, in International Seaway v. Walgreens, 2009 WL 159805 (S.D.Fla.). The court invalidated a design patent claim as anticipated by the prior art - something that rarely, if ever, has occurred.

    View PDF of full newsletter

     

  • DesignLaw Perspectives

    Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2009

    Egyptian Goddess - Arc'Teryx Equipment v. Westcomb Outerwear

    In September of 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down the most important design patent decision in the last 135 years: Egyptian Goddess v. Swisa that dramatically changed the law of  design patent infringement. Perry Saidman has analyzed this ground-breaking case in his recent article: Egyptian Goddess Exposed!, 90 Journ. Pat. Trademark Ofc. Soc., 859, December, 2008.

    The first case to interpret the new Egyptian Goddess law is Arc’Teryx Equipment, Inc. v. Westcomb Outerwear, Inc., 2008 WL 4838141 (D.Utah 2008).

    View PDF of full newsletter